Whores in art

​Édouard Manet was born in January 1832 to wealthy and well connected parents in Paris. His father was a judge and expected Manet to follow his footsteps into law, but from a young age and influenced by his uncle who took him to The Louvre Manet wanted to pursue art. At the age of 13 he attended a drawing course where he met Antonin Proust, future Minister of Fine Arts and subsequent lifelong friend.

Having failed the exam to join the Navy twice Manet's father relented and allowed him to study art and he studied under Thomas Couture and copied masterpieces in The Lourve in his free time.

Édouard Manet, 1874

Luncheon on the grass, 1863

Between 1853 and 1856 Manet toured Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands and became influenced by the Dutch painter Frans Hals, and the Spanish painters Diego Velázquez and Francisco José de Goya.

By 1856 Manet had set up his own studio and was on his way to becoming one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life. He was also a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism.

One of Manet's early works was Luncheon on the grass (Le déjeuner sur l'herbe) which was rejected by the Paris Salon. The Paris Salon was France's official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts and based in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest art event in the Western world.

Manet did however display Luncheon on the Grass into the Salon des Refusés (Salon of the Rejected) which was set up by Napolean III to show the 2,783 paintings rejected by The Salon. The reaction to the painting was mixed and some of the criticism was based on the lack of interaction between the nude woman and the fully dressed men. It was suggested that the painting depicted the Bois de Boulogne, an area of Paris known as a place of prostitution (it still is today!) Whilst prostitution was rife in France and everyone knew it, it was still considered a taboo subject for a painting. Manet waited two years before submitting Olympia to the Salon. It has been suggested that the jurors at The Salon did not want to appear prudish or were censoring art or that the decided to show Olympia to 'show up' Manet, especially after the negative critisism of Luncheon on the grass.

The PaintingOlympia was successful in being accepted by The Salon in 1865 where it caused huge scandal and outrage. Whilst painters had depicted prostitution before now and Luncheon on the grass was possibly depicting a prostitute Olympia was definitely a prostitute, not just that but she waslooking defiantly and unapologetically at the viewer. It is thought that this was the first time a female nude had been shown in a major work of art not as a mythological or generic figure but as an individual woman, grappling with the practical realities of her time and place.

Inspired by Titian's Venus of Urbino (see below) the shock of Olympia was not her nakedness but the details that symbolised she was a prostitute. The orchid in her hair, her bracelet, pearl earrings and the oriental shawl on which she lies, are symbols of wealth and sensuality. An orchid often denotes luxury; Olympia is a high class prostitute, or part of the demi-monde. The black ribbon around her neck, in stark contrast with her pale flesh, and her cast-off slipper underline the voluptuous atmosphere. "Olympia" was a name associated with prostitutes in 1860s Paris.

Venus of Urbino, Titian, 1538

The woman in Titian's Venus of Urbino has her hand curled seductively, almost pointing to her genitals whereas Olympia's hand seems to be hiding them, almost blocking them- you can only see them if you pay maybe!

Venus's dog, a symbol of loyalty or fidelity is replaced by a black cat. In the 18th century cats in art often symbolised seduction, sensuality and malice. Whilst black cats have long been associated with witchcraft, by the 19th century they were more connected with mystery or unorthodox behaviour, both easily part of prostitution or being a prostitute!

The black servant seems to be being ignored by Olympia as she presents her with a bouquet of flowers. Maybe they are from a client and she is tired of his keenness or persistence. Or maybe she receives so many flowers she doesn't care for them any more. Personally I would like more flowers!

When the painting was displayed at The Salon some visitors had to be restrained and the gallery had to hire two policemen to guard the painting. It was described as 'shocking' despite the female nude not being a new subject in art. It's critics claimed it was the unabashed and strident attitude Olympia seems to have and the fact that she didn't seem ashamed or impoverished (if you don't have to do sex work why do it at all unless you are a bad woman!) A poor woman forced into sex work elicits sympathy, a strident one does not. How much has really changed?

The ModelThere is such a limited number of female artists for me to cover so I feel it is important to mention the models. Often painters used prostitutes or certainly women in loose morals as models because 'respectable women would not pose naked. In the case of Manet's Olympia whilst the subject is certainly a prostitute the model was not.

Her name was Victorine Meurent. She was an artist herself, although sadly became better known as a model. She actually exhibited a self portrait at the Salon six times, the first time in 1876, a year when Manet did not get anything in.

Victorine was from a working class family, her father was a patiner of bronze and her mother a miliner. Manet met her as an 18 year old in the street,. She often played music in cafes and also modelled to supplement her income. very little else is known about her background.

Manet first painted Victorine in 1862 in the Street Singer (below) clutching her guitar. She was then catipulted into 'fame' as the nude model in Luncheon on the grass and then as Olympia. He painted her 9 times in total.

Victorine was very different from the classical beauties of the time, she was short and slightly squat, with the kind of flyaway ginger hair that refuses to behave even when crammed under a hat. Her very pale skin and slenderness were not popular looks at the time.

​Victorine always haboured an interest in art. In the 1870's shebegan taking art classes and they became estranged, as she was drawn to the more academic style of painting that Manet opposed. In 1875, Meurent began studying with the portraitist Étienne Leroy and the following year she first exhibited in the Paris Salon.

Meurent was inducted into the Société des Artistes Français in 1903, with the support of Charles Hermann-Leon and Tony Robert-Fleury, the Société's founder. By 1906 Meurent had left Paris for the suburb of Colombes.

She continued to paint, but of course as a working class woman the odds were stacked against her and she struggled. After Manet's death in 1883 she wrote to his widow Suzanne politely asking her for help.

Manet had offered her a share of the profits from the paintings featuring her. She had always refused at the time, but saying ‘when I could no longer pose I would remind him of his promise’.

Now at 40 her model days were over and as she explained to Suzanne; her health was poor and she was caring for her elderly mother and in a 'desperate situation'.

She never received a reply.

In her eighties she continued to refer to herself as an artist, as recorded in a census from the time. Meurent died on March 17, 1927 at the age of 83.

Victorine Meurent c 1865

Street Singer, Manet, 1862

Palm Sunday, c 1880s, Victorine Meurent

Close up from 'Olympia'

There appears to be only one surviving painting by Victorine Meurent; Palm Sunday a painting of a girl holding a palm leaf. It is said after her death many of her works, along with her guitar were destroyed on a bonfire when her house was cleared. It feels very sad that she didn't get much recognition as either a model or an artist.

Manet died in 1883 after his left foot was amputated due to gangrene. He was also said to have syphilis. The fact Victorine lived until 1927 means their relationship probably wasn't sexual as was rumoured at the time she was his muse.

The idea of this blog in addition to The Minxipedia came to me firstly from thinking about being so rubbish at keeping The Minxipedia up to date and not having a lot to say. Secondly I wanted a mini project to keep my brain moving and I had a germ of an idea after I visited the exhibition Easy Virtue:Prostitution in French Art 1850-1910 at the Van Gogh musuem in Amsterdam earlier in the year.

Since then I have been on a History of Art course and I wanted to keep up with that interest through the summer. I am by no means an expert, but I thought the research and writing would be good for me and hopefully create an interesting blog for those with an interest in art and also prostitution!

I'm going to start with the painting in the cover picture- Manet's Olympia. I shall vary the periods and styles I write about and also vary where the artists some from, though I will stick to Western art initially.

I shall also be including paintings of both actual sex workers as well as depictions posed by models. Prostitutes, or rather courtesans were often used as models for artists, probably because they were the kind of woman willing to pose nude and secondly for the great courtesans a painting by a fine artists was the 16th or 17th century version of a card in a phone box or a website; a great way of advertising!

This is very much a work in progress so we shall see where it leads me!